Thursday, 23 August 2012
etravelblackboardasia.com
Efforts of the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism are starting to
pay off after years promoting the country’s beach destination of
Sihanoukville as the next travel frontier in Cambodia.
A premier beach resort in Cambodia was not what travellers
think of when booking a trip to Cambodia, according to Bangkok-based
Backyard Travel sales manager Sibylle Rotzler.
Until recently, getting to the seaside getaway of
Sihanoukville was only accessible by a treacherous four hour drive from
Phnom Penh that sees so many accidents that Cambodians usually insist
on praying en-route at a temple.
Awareness of the destination is growing since accessibility
was made easier with scheduled flights to Sihanoukville from Siem Reap
that restarted at the end of last year. The area also saw its first
ship to cruise the Gulf of Thailand in a decade drop anchor with 1,000
Chinese tourists onboard this year.
Marriott is due to open a luxury resort in Sihanoukville next
year, featuring an 18-hole golf course and a marina. Meanwhile,
construction of a bridge connecting the mainland to an island off the
coast was completed last year with the same developer building a
luxurious resort complete with a casino in the area.
According to official figures, foreign visitors to Cambodia’s
beaches grew eight percent to 180,000 people. This growth is expected
to increase further after the country’s coastline was admitted to the
prestigious Most Beautiful Bays in the World Club last year.
However efforts to put Sihanoukville on the map were hindered
by attempts to diversify Cambodia’s tourist attractions beyond the
Angkor temples and the French colonial capital Phnom Penh. This was
stalled further when in late 2008; Cambodia became one of the few
countries in the world without its own domestic airline.
A refurbishment of Sihanoukville Airport was completed at the
end of 2009; however scheduled flights into this airport were delayed
by two years. Critics say this was a result of the country’s “so
called” flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air (that is 49 percent owned by
Vietnam Airlines) generating little interest in developing new domestic
destinations, instead channelling tourists in and out of Vietnam.
Cambodia Angkor Air marketing executive Kloung Sivly said the
relaunch of the scheduled flights, that flew 5,741 passengers to
Sihanoukville in the first half of this year, fitted well with the
government’s plan to promote links to the seaside resort. |
6 comments:
Do not allow people went around selling stuff on the beach they will throwing trash all over the beach....People who selling stuff must have a shop along the beach, people don't need to lean a basket next to tourist's nose and trying to sell stuff..??
Beach suppose to be a quiet place and romantic place for tourist relaxing, if they are hungry they can walk a block to the shop and eating there............
Yes. Good comments, guys. I agree.
I do feel sorry for poor Khmers trying to make a living, but I do agree that government MUST keep this beautiful beaches areas clean, quiet, SAFE. Tourist go to the beach for quiet romantic relaxing. Let local have an areas AWAY from beaches to sell their stuffs to make a living and don't let vendors stray into these beaches. Some vendors can be let in ONLY under control, must be neat and hygiene.
I was there at the beach 2009 I know people keep asking me to buy their stuff and you can't move freely they were all around you like Bee? I think authority should prevent people selling stuff like that its not appropriate...I'm sorry to say that? Yes, its dirty you see plastic bags-trash thing like that on the beach....I'm not sure now? May be it has change a bit?
I also notice that people who selling foods on the basket they don't cover their foods at all...? Dusty, house-flies(Sat Ruy), this is why people should have a shop/little restaurant?, a proper place for all tourists!
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